The Wolverine

August 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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52 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2017   PREP PROFILES When taking a look at the statistics Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei five-star Amon-Ra St. Brown posted last season, it's easy to see why he's rated as the No. 1 wide receiver and No. 4 overall player in the country by Rivals.com. As a junior in 2016, he hauled in 60 catches for 1,229 yards and 21 touchdowns, av- eraging an absurd 20.5 yards per catch and 94.5 receiving yards per game. St. Brown, who holds offers from most of the nation's powerhouses, in- sisted he was still wide open entering July. "I don't have any top schools or anything right now, and am pretty open to everybody," he said. "There are schools recruiting me harder than others, and Michigan is one of them." St. Brown touched on his relation- ship with the Wolverines, citing two specific coaches he is quite familiar with. "I actually recently spoke with [wide receivers coach] Coach [Joe] Hastings on the phone, and we had a great talk," he said. "We don't always just talk about football — we talk about life and other things as well, and I think he's a great guy. "Coach [Pep] Hamilton came up to my school during spring ball and watched me practice. I think he's a football mega-mind — he knows so much about plays and schemes, and is just a great coach." St. Brown has met head coach Jim Harbaugh before as well, with the first time occurring at the annual Sound Mind Sound Body camp a few years ago. "He's definitely one of the bet- ter coaches in college football," St. Brown said. "He's very stern, and all his players respect him." The five-star receiver actually has two older brothers who also play the position at big-time programs — Equanimeous will be a junior at Notre Dame this fall, and Osiris will be a freshman at Stanford. "Stanford and Notre Dame are huge schools for me, because obviously my brothers go there," he explained. "I have to go to a school that has a great education, because football doesn't last forever, and Stanford and Notre Dame qualify in those areas." Don't expect a final decision from the 6-1, 187-pounder any time soon, though. "I'd like to decide definitely some- time after my senior season," he said. — Austin Fox The Top Wideout In The Country Is Building A Bond With Michigan Michigan offered Indianapolis Lawrence Central four-star outside linebacker Cameron McGrone during an on-campus visit June 22, which also happened to be his birthday. The 6-1, 210-pounder tweeted that it was the best birthday present ever. "Every offer is great for me," he later added while in Oregon for Nike's The Opening. "It's great to have a college give me a chance to play for them. It was great to get that offer from Michigan." The U-M staff is definitely putting in a lot of effort now that they've offered McGrone, who is listed as the No. 4 player in Indiana and the No. 16 outside linebacker nationally by Rivals.com. "Every day or every other day, me and the coaches text just to get that comfortability level down," he said. "They texted me the whole week- end [during The Opening], asking me how I'm doing. They saw me on Twitter making big plays." The effort by Michigan's staff certainly has had an impact on Mc- Grone. He released his top six just a few days after picking up the offer from U-M, and the list included the Wolverines, Indiana, Notre Dame, Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Wiscon- sin. He outlined why Michigan was able to jump into the mix so quickly despite offering much later than the other five programs. "Michigan definitely met my ex- pectations," McGrone explained. "I knew it was going to be a great school and also how great the coaches would be. Michigan just has so much to offer, just like these other schools. "I felt the same way there as I did when I visited the other five; very comfortable. That's why they made my top group." McGrone — who plans to take official visits in the fall — was not close to a decision as of early July, but Michigan and Notre Dame are believed to be his top two schools. As a junior, McGrone recorded 52 tackles, 15.5 stops for loss, 4.5 sacks and one forced fumble before tear- ing his ACL. Despite playing in just six games, he was still named an all- conference performer. — Brandon Brown U-M Is In The Mix For Athletic Linebacker From Indiana ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Lawrence Central H.S. Indianapolis Class: 2018 Position: Outside Linebacker Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 210 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 4 player in Indiana and No. 16 outside linebacker nationally Cameron McGrone ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ ✪ Mater Dei H.S. Santa Ana, Calif. Class: 2018 Position: Wide Receiver Ht.: 6-1 • Wt.: 187 Rivals.com Rankings: No. 1 player in California, and No. 1 wide receiver and No. 4 overall prospect in the country Amon-Ra St. Brown St. Brown "I don't have any top schools or anything right now, and am pretty open to everybody. There are schools recruiting me harder than others, and Michigan is one of them." McGrone "Michigan definitely met my expectations. I knew it was going to be a great school and also how great the coaches would be. Michigan just has so much to offer, just like these other schools."

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